


Of Hearts and Contracts

by oathskeeper



Category: Free!
Genre: Angst, Friendship, Friendship/Love, High Speed! spoilers, M/M, Multi, Puella Magi Madoka Magica AU, Romance, Some Humor, makoto is a cute magical girl, tags to be updated as story moves on
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-01-26
Updated: 2014-07-29
Packaged: 2018-01-10 02:54:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 8,300
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1153915
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/oathskeeper/pseuds/oathskeeper
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Madoka AU in which Makoto makes a contract with Kyubey and becomes a magical girl in order to save Haru's life.</p><p>aka</p><p>Makoto is a badass magical girl who fights some witches and tries to keep Haruka from stripping in public 24/7.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> unedited.

He was a fool.

A complete and utter fool.

The transformation has long gone and reverted him back into his normal state. Now he's nothing more than a limp body lying in a puddle of his own blood. He's bruised and beaten to the point where he's not even sure if he could get up even if he wanted to. His vision's gone blurry and his conscious is currently in a constant state of fading in and out.

What a way to finally end this deal.

The white cat like creature that had promised him everything and gave him nothing but lies stares at him form a distance. A smug smirk dances across the deadly creatures' face as if it knew this was the way it was going to end all along. It probably did, or at least had a small idea of how this would all play out. Had he had any strength left within him he's sure he would've glared at the wicked being, but what was done was done. No amount of anger or bitter words could be said or done to change his now sealed fate.

It was a lost cause from the beginning.

The bright green light that had once been his sanctuary during the darkest moments now mocks him as it's light grows dimmer and dimmer with each breath he takes. Cracks surround the glass-like trinket and it looks as if it would shatter at any given moment, that is if the light doesn't fade out first.

He could almost laugh at the entirety of this situation. How stupid he was to think he could actually avoid this eternal suffering. There were only two ways out of this ordeal. Death and a fate so cruel it was practically worse than death itself. That was it. There was no loophole, none that he nor any of the others could find anyway, in the contract that he signed his life away to. This was the end for him and all the others just like him.

What a sad pathetic existence this turned out to be.

But deep in his hear he knew everything he had done up to this point had been for one reason and one reason only. He only wished it didn't have to end this way, with him so broken that he wouldn't even be able to say goodbye to the one person who mattered the most. He hated the thought of leaving that person behind, but attempting to stop what was going to happen next was inevitable.

He cranes his neck ever so slightly to look at the pair of bodies lying near him and feels tears fill up in his eyes. He wished the others hadn't gotten dragged into this mess along with him, but knows that it wasn't necessarily his fault. They all had their own reasons for making contracts. All of them had something they were fighting for and they all had reasons for being with him at this moment. He also knows they have their own sense of regret as well.

He wonders what will happen to him when the darkness overcomes him. He wonders how long it'll take for those who care about him to stop looking for him when he doesn't come back after tonight. He wonders how long it'll take for them to move forward with their lives once they realize he won't ever come back.

He wonders if they could ever forgive him for what he’s done.

The world around him is starting to fade again and this time he's sure it won't come back into focus again. The tears that were threatening to fall earlier now cascade down his cheeks as his eyelids droop more and more. He can hear the soft rhythm of his heartbeat become softer and quieter until he can barely even hear it anymore.

His final moments are here.

He can still hear the faint sounds of his own screaming as well as the ambulance sirens going off in the distance. Flashes of red hair and a shocked face comes into view as well as the sight of himself hysterically crying and calling out for someone. There's another face that appears as well. The persons face is red with a fever and their breathing is shallow and harsh. The person is clinging to the last moments of their life just as he is doing right now. Then the sound of the creature who ruined his life echos throughout his head.

_Make a contract with me and become a magical girl!_

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which a duo is formed and Makoto is a total babe.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> unedited and lots of dialogue.

He doesn't know exactly how long he's been sitting in the hospital's waiting room, but it's been long enough that he doesn't even remember how he got there. He knows there was an ambulance, but honestly after that everything has just become a blur. He's heard from Haru's mother that Haru's become under the weather with Influenza and that he would be fine in a couple of days. She's in the room with Haru right now  making sure her son is alright before she lets Makoto into the room to see him. 

It's not until he looks down in his hands and sees the trinket that memories of the creature and the contract come flooding back and it’s all but a literal blow to his gut to remember these things so suddenly. His chest feels tight and his entire body’s shaking  violently. 

 _What ha_ _s_ _he done?_  

His eyes travel back to the item in his hand. A _soul gem_ , the creature called it. Something he needed to protect at all costs and never let out of his sight. This was the thing that would give him power to fulfill his duties that came along with the contract. The thing that would bind him to the creature for the rest of his life. 

He wants to destroy it. 

Hands shaking, he grips the soul gem tightly and makes a motion to throw the trinket straight into the ground. He quickly stops going through with the action when Haruka’s mother opens the door and gives Makoto a small smile. She motions for Makoto to come inside and then makes the motion again to someone behind him before walking back inside the room. 

Makoto freezes. 

How could he have forgotten that he wasn’t alone? He bites his lip before turning to face  Rin  with a small smile. He calls out to Rin who seemed to be spacing out a bit before following Haruka’s mom into the room.  Rin follows him inside just a few steps behind, however, Makoto doesn't dare to look at his face again. 

Haruka comes into view the minute he’s inside and Makoto’s heart all but stops at the sight of seeing Haru’s eyes open with life shining in them. Haruka’s mom soon walks out again, muttering something about getting the boys some drinks as well as food for her son, leaving just the three boys alone. There are many things Makoto wishes to say at this moment, but he doesn’t trust his voice at all. 

Instead he settles on giving Haruka the biggest smile he can muster. It’s a bit strained but still a genuine smile on Makoto’s part. Haruka doesn’t return the smile, but his eyes flicker in acknowledgment of Makoto’s attempt of making the situation a bit lighter. Makoto then suddenly announces that he’s going to run down to the cafeteria to help Haruka’s mother with their drinks and Haru’s food. 

He’s turning for the door before Haru can protest. He spares Rin, who has been nothing but quiet, a glance before practically running out the door. He knows Rin won’t say anything to Haru, but that doesn’t stop him from feeling uneasy. He wishes Rin wasn’t involved  at all , but there’s nothing he can do about it now. He doesn’t look back as he walks out. He doesn’t want to think about anything other than the fact that Haru’s alive and well. That’s all that matters at this point.   

He doesn’t hear Haruka mutter a soft “ _thank you_ ” to Rin as he’s running out the door. 

 *** * ***  

The tension that both Makoto and Rin have been ignoring for the entire time during their visit with Haru has finally start to intensify the moment they've stepped out into the hallway to leave the hospital. Rin hadn’t said much of anything since they had arrived, but Makoto knew Rin would crack down eventually. 

“Tachibana…” the redhead whispered as he trailed behind Makoto. 

"What is it?" Makoto asked, not daring to look back at the boy behind him. He doesn’t trust himself to keep up this brave front if he were face to face with the other so he keeps on walking. 

“We need to talk about what happened--” Rin began before Makoto cut him off. “There’s nothing to talk about, Matsuoka-kun.” Makoto felt himself walk a little faster as if he could avoid this talk by running away.  

“There’s plenty to talk about Tachibana!” 

“Like what exactly?” 

“How about the fact that you made no effort to tell Nanase about anything that happened at the river the entire time we’ve been here?” 

Makoto quickly turns around, causing the redhead to jump back a bit in surprise. “Haru doesn’t need to know anything about this.” He says as he gives Rin a hard stare with his fists clenched tightly at his sides. Makoto could feel that he was at his limit. If he keeps getting pushed like this he’s not sure he can hold in his feelings about all of this anymore. 

“Considering he’s the entire reason you even agreed to the contract I think he deserves to know. Better you tell him now before he finds out about it later.” 

“He’s not going to find out about this. _Ever_. Not from me or from you. Haru never needs to know what happened at the river, got it?” 

“ _Why are you so intent on keeping this from Nanase—_?!” 

Makoto didn’t have time to answer, for Rin quickly shut his mouth when a nurse appeared and gave them a raised eyebrow as she continued on walking by. Makoto looked around the hallway and shook his head in frustration. _Too many people_ , he thought. He looked back over to Rin and sighed, “We shouldn’t talk about this here.” 

With that Makoto turned towards the hospital’s exit, Rin following close behind. When they were finally outside and a good distance away from the hospital Rin made his move again, “Tachibana wait!” He grabbed onto Makoto’s wrist to make him stop walking any further. 

Makoto stopped abruptly, but made no effort to turn and face Rin. This day had been mentally exhausting, he wasn’t sure he could keep pretending that this whole situation wasn’t a big deal. It was Makoto’s problem. _Makoto_ made the wish. _Makoto_ made the contract. It was all him. Why couldn’t Rin just drop it and accept that already? 

“Let me help you.” 

“What?” 

He turned quickly and stared at Rin with wide eyes. Was he being serious? No. It had to be a joke. He had to have heard wrong. Makoto opened his mouth and said, “M-Matsuoka-kun I don’t think that’s such a good—” 

“I don’t care! If you won’t tell Nanase about this then I’ll just have to take responsibility.” 

“Responsibility? Y-You mean like marriage?!” 

“WHAT. N-No!! Tachibana, you idiot, where would you get that idea from?! I meant that I’ll just have to watch over you while you do this whole thing and make sure you don’t get hurt.” 

“ _Oh_.” 

There was an awkward pause between the two boys after that until Makoto spoke up again, “How exactly do you plan to do that?” 

Rin shut his mouth at that and began to twiddle his thumbs. A light blush covered the red head’s face as he mumbled, “I don’t know, but I’ll figure out something. I’ll do anything to make sure you don’t end up getting yourself hurt or worse. I just... I can't accept the idea of you trying to do so much on your own.” 

Makoto let out a soft array of giggles at that, and Rin’s face began to turn a deeper shade of red. When Makoto finally stopped laughing he smiled lightly at Rin and said, “Thank you, Matsuoka-kun.” 

“Whatever.” 

 *** * ***  

_Finally found you._

"Did you say something?" 

"No... Did you?" 

"No..." 

"I was the one who said it!" 

The two boys froze in their tracks and slowly turned around to see the creature from before staring up at them from the ground. They had been walking down the empty road towards the bus stop for some time now and the last thing they were expecting was for the creature to appear out of nowhere. They both jumped back slightly and pointed at the creature while shouting, "It's you!" 

"Nice to see you again, too." 

"I wasn't sure I'd see you again so soon." Makoto quickly bowed his head at the creature. He was happy that the creature had decided to show up again, but for some reason something about the creature's presence made him slightly uncomfortable. 

"I couldn't just abandon one of my newest magical girl now could I?" 

"Well I guess not... uh..." 

"Kyubey." 

"Huh?" 

"My name. I know yours so it's only fair you know mine seeing as we'll be working together from now on." The creature, now identified as Kyubey, circled around the boys and then sat down in front of them. The creature flicked its tail slightly and said, "Anyway, introductions aside I have something to give you. Please hold out your left hand." 

Makoto bent down to Kyubey's level and did as he was told. Kyubey then tapped his middle finger and a small light surrounded it. The light soon took shape into a ring with a small green gem on top of it. He held out his hand in front of his face and stared at the ring. There was some sort of writing on the side of it, but Makoto couldn't make out what it said. He lowered his hand again and looked down at Kyubey again.

"A ring?" He asked while trying not to make a face at the slightly feminine accessory.

"Don't worry only those with magical abilities can see the ring aside from yourself. Besides it holds your Soul Gem inside to keep it safe when you're not in magical girl form. Not to mention it helps with your transformation." 

"Transformation?" 

"You seriously don’t think you’re going to fight witches like that are you?" 

"W-Well—" Makoto tilted his head and scratched his cheek a bit. Was there something wrong with what he was wearing? Or did he mean... 

"Wait are you implying that I'll actually become a girl to fight these witches?" 

"Precisely." 

"Ehhhhh?!" 

Both Rin and Makoto gaped at each other than back at Kyubey. Rin was the first one to speak once they got over the shock. "So Tachibana's gonna become a girl now?" 

"Only when he's transformed. Other than that he'll be his normal self." 

Rin nodded his head at that. "I guess that makes sense." 

Makoto made a noise at that. He had to be joking. "That doesn't make sense at all!!" Makoto whines.

Of course it does, Tachibana. You're a magical girl now. It's only normal if you become a girl when you go off to fight." 

"Well I guess if you put it that way..." Makoto sighed in defeat and looked over to Kyubey. "How exactly does this whole turning into a magical girl thing work anyway?" he asked, not actually wanting to know. 

"I'm sure you have an idea as to how it works." the creature replied. "It's not much different than what you human think how it works. Just let your Soul Gem do all the work." 

Makoto thought of how the girls transformed in all the magical girl shows. All them started with the main heroine shouting out a phrase, then suddenly becomes naked and then is surrounded by bright lights as their costume beings to appear from ribbons and glitter. He blushed at that thought and covered his face with his hands. The fact that he would  actual  turn into a girl after the transformation was embarrassing. The fact that he would most likely going to be naked during the transformation made the first statement even worse since Rin was standing about three feet away from him. He took his hands off his face and groaned as he accepted his fate. He was glad it was just them and that no one else was out and about on this road. 

“Turn around and don't look okay?” he mumbled to Rin, who was just standing there with a toothy smile. Rin rolled his eyes but did as he was told and faced away from Makoto. Makoto let out a deep sigh and held out his Soul Gem in his palm. "Well, here goes nothing." He closed his eyes and hoped the Soul Gem would know what to do. 

What came next was a bright light that engulfed his entire body in a warm embrace. He closed his eyes tighter when he felt a small pain run through his body and veins, but other than that it didn't seem like anything was actually happening. When the light faded Makoto opened his eyes and didn't feel any different at all. In fact he felt like nothing had changed at all that is until Rin went and opened his big mouth. 

“Dude, Tachibana, you’re a total babe.” He said after letting out a loud whistle. 

What. 

Babe? What are you talking about? 

That’s when Makoto looked down at his body and saw small lumps on his chest? No, those weren't lumps. Those were breasts. His face quickly turned bright red. He ran his hands down his body slowly, feeling slight curves near his waist that weren't there before. He noticed his legs were slimmer, more defined almost. He ran his fingers through his hair and noticed it was longer than before. Not by much, just above his shoulders. He raised his head and looked over at Rin, who was staring at Makoto’s new body with interest. 

“You’re really cute, holy shit, Tachibana.” 

“M-Matsuoka-kun don’t say something like that!” Makoto screeched as he covered his newly obtained chest with his arms.   

“But it’s true! Spin around and let me get a better look at you.” 

Makoto glared a bit and lowered his arms from his chest as he hesitantly began to turn for Rin's viewing pleasure. He blushed at the way his outfit hugged his body as he twirled and blushed even more when he heard Rin let out a low whistle. “Wow. Who knew you'd make such a cute girl, Tachibana.” Rin said as Makoto let out a loud whine. “Relax. I'm just teasing. Even Kyubey over here thinks you look adorable, right?" 

Kyubey simply nodded his head as he jumped onto Rin's shoulder to get a better look. Makoto simply groaned again and hid his face in his hands. “You two are the absolute  worse .” 

“Hey we're just being honest--” 

“All honesty aside--” Makoto said trying to ignore Rin and to not roll his eyes. “I have a question for Kyubey.” He looked over at white cat like creature, “What exactly are these witches that I’m supposed to fight anyway?” 

“Witches are beings created from curses, who feed off the negative emotions that humans can give off when they’re at their weakest points. They also tend to kill off those humans as well.” 

“So what exactly does Tachibana get from destroying these witches? Like what's the point?” asked Rin who was still trying to understand the entire concept of witches and whatnot. 

“By defeating these witches he'll be able to keep the peace balance of this town in check and earn Grief Seeds with every witch he defeats.” 

“Grief Seeds?” 

“They’re witches eggs. After you destroy a witch a Grief Seed is left behind as a reward. You use that reward to keep the light of your Soul Gem burning bright.” 

Makoto looked down at the pendent on his chest and touched it slightly. His Soul Gem had taken on a new shape like everything else did when he transformed. It almost looked like a heart from this angle, and its light was glowing a soft green color much like the color of his eyes. He looked back over at Kyubey and said, “You mean my Soul Gem’s light can fade?” 

Kyubey nodded his head. “Unfortunately so. You see in order to fight a witch you must battle it in the witch's labyrinth, which is a place full of darkness and negativity. When fighting witches it's hard to remember that you must keep the negativity from getting to you which is where your Soul Gem comes in handy. Its light fights off the negativity and helps keep you alive inside the labyrinth, but even the brightest of lights can fade. That's why Grief Seeds are so important. They feed off the negativity that attaches to your Soul Gem.” 

Rin nodded his head as Kyubey explained the whole Soul Gem and Grief Seed concept. Although he still wasn't entirely sure how they both worked, the way Kyubey talked about it made it seem that both were equally important to the battles Makoto would later have to face against the witches in this town. There was still one thing Rin wanted to know, “So if these witches are such a big deal how come we've never seen or heard anything about them before?” 

Makoto's head was spinning as he listened to both Rin and Kyubey talk something concerning the witches and something called a “witch's kiss”. All of this was too much information to take in one day. Witches, Soul Gems, Grief Seeds, and now something called a witch's kiss? It was all so confusing. Not to mention he was still in this ridiculous outfit and had no idea how to change back. He rubbed his temples and groaned, “Kyubey, I know you're doing you best to try and explain everything, but isn't there anyone who could teach me? You know someone with experience about this whole thing?” 

“I suppose I could try and persuade Yuukarin to train you.” 

“Yuu... _karin_?"

“She's the one who’s been watching over this and the neighboring town for some time now and probably wouldn't mind taking you under her wing. In fact she'd probably enjoy the company of another by her side.” 

Makoto bit his lip and looked down at the ground. It was great that Kyubey was willing to find someone to help out with this thing, but what if this whole thing turned out to be a total bust? What if Makoto wasn't cut out for this whole thing and ended up putting someone in danger because he hadn't a clue of what to do? He looked over at Kyubey with a worried face, “What if she doesn't want to help me? What if I turn out not be a very good magical girl at all?" 

“Nonsense, Makoto, I've sensed great power from you right from the start. You have a kind heart and such potential. With a little confidence I’m sure you’ll one of the greatest and most powerful magical girl ever.” 

“Yeah Tachibana,” Rin said as he threw an arm around Makoto's shoulders, with a toothy grin on his face. “You’ve got to have more confidence in yourself. Besides I may not have powers or a flashy outfit like yours, but I'll be with you every step of the way okay? We'll learn this whole magical girl business together. We're partners, got it?” 

Makoto was taken by surprised by that. He knew there must've been some reason Kyubey decided to ask him to make a contract, but he never thought it'd be something like that. And with Rin and his kind words his eyes began to mist up a bit. He quickly wiped away any tears that were forming and threatening to fall. He bent down and picked up Kyubey into his arms and gave him a slight hug. Kyubey looked up at him, and Makoto simply smiled in return. He glanced between Rin and Kyubey and finally said, “Thank you Kyubey, and you too, Matsuoka-kun. I’ll give it everything I've got and become the best magical girl ever. I promise.”

 *** * ***  

When Makoto and Rin were finally alone (and Kyubey long gone and out of sight), the two decided it was best to stop hanging around and find the bus stop before it got too late. It be a pain to have to walk all the way back home especially for Rin who lived clear across the other side of town. 

It was a short walk and somewhere along the way Makoto had figured out how to change from his magical girl form back to his normal self. When they finally reached the bus stop there was an awkward silence between them until Rin decided to open his big mouth again. 

“Hey, Tachibana.” 

“Yes?” 

“I still think you look like a total babe in that outfit.” 

There was a loud whine and a snarky laugh that followed soon after Rin let those words out of his mouth. 

 *** * ***  

Makoto gave a small wave as Rin exited the bus and leaned back against the seat as the bus began to move again. A raging storm of emotions were currently brewing inside him and Makoto wasn't sure what to do. Although everything had turned out alright the events of today continued to play in his head. The image of Haru's pale face and still body was forever engraved into his memory and he wasn't sure if it would ever go away. 

The fact that he had been so close to losing the person he treasures most in this world was too much to bare. He could feel his unstable emotions begin to stir even more as he doubled over and began shaking furiously. No longer able to fight it he finally let go of the tears he had been holding back ever since he saw Haru's light up and open eyes just a few hours earlier.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things are slowly moving forward.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> unedited.

_Huff… huff…_

“You call _that_ running? My Grandmother can run faster than that!”

_Pant… pant…_

“Come on Tachibana get it in gear!”

Makoto groaned and face planted into the sand in exhaustion. He could hear Rin’s muffled yelling in the distance, but chose to ignore it by burying his face in the sand. It had been two days since Kyubey had journeyed off to find Makoto a teacher and Rin took it in his own hands to help Makoto with “endurance” training while he was still teacher-less.  So here they were at the beach near Makoto’s house doing laps and various other exercise routines. At first it seemed like a good idea at the time, but now Makoto wanted nothing more than to turn back time and make sure he said no to Rin’s training regime.

“Geez Tachibana your stamina sucks.”

Makoto groaned again and slowly lifted himself up from the ground. He brushed off the sand on his face and clothes and looked over to Rin. “Don’t you think I know that? Long distance running has never really been my thing you know. Besides why am _I_ the only one doing these things? Shouldn’t you be doing all this stuff with me?”

Rin just rolled his eyes and replied with, “ _I’m_ not the one who’s going to be fighting witches and wizards and whatnot. _I_ don’t need the extra training. I’m fine just the way I am.” He crossed his arms and gave Makoto a smug proud look.

“Fair enough I guess.”

“Anyway has Kyubey said anything about that girl who’s supposed to teach the ways of a magical girl?”

“Not exactly. He just said that I should expect her sometime this weekend.”

“You don’t sound too excited.”

“It’s just… I’m worried.” Rin gave him a confused look and waited for him to go on. “This whole magical girl thing is obviously supposed to be kept a secret and I just have no idea how I’m going to keep that secret? I mean how do I even begin to balance the responsibilities I’m going to have after this? How do I even go about running around town in that ridiculous outfit slaying creatures no one else even see?” Makoto groaned and covered his face with his hands. “How am I even supposed to meet with this girl without lying to my family?”

“Just say you’re spending the night at my house.” Rin said clearly ignoring everything Makoto had said before the last sentence.

“What?”

“You tell your parents you’re staying at my place and I’ll tell my mom I’m staying the weekend with my grandmother’s place with a friend and when she’s gone to sleep you and I can sneak out and meet that girl. Then when everything’s all done we sneak back in the house and everything’s peachy keen. No one has to lie or even know what we were doing.”

Makoto blinked as he tried to process all that information at once. He tilted his head and asked, “Is… Is that even okay?”

“Don’t see why not. Gran’s been bugging me about bringing some friends over anyway. She’ll be happy to take us in for the night and she won’t ask any unnecessary questions.” Rin then threw one of his arms around Makoto’s shoulders and pulled him closer. “Besides I told you before we’re partners now and that means I’ll be at your service any time you need an alibi got it?”

“Matsuoka-kun,” Makoto smiled as he leaned over and lightly nudged Rin’s forehead with his own. “Thanks. For doing all of this. It means a lot.” A light blush flushed across Rin’s face as Makoto’s forehead came in contact with his.  He laughed and lightly flicked Makoto in the forehead as he pulled away from him. “Yeah, yeah. I know I’m amazing now come on I want five more laps done before I have to leave for dinner.”

Makoto just groaned in reply.

*** * ***

Swim club (a few days later) had come and went just like any other day only today Haruka was actually back and well again. He had been out for four days and he was in desperate need for a swim. No one was more pleased to see Haru up and swimming again than Makoto. Watching Haru swim him had always been one of Makoto’s favorite things to do. Haruka was most beautiful when he was swimming after all, but knowing he was swimming happily, as well as being alive and healthy again, made this day and activity so much better for Makoto.

Soon it was time to go home and Makoto headed over to the locker room with Haru in tow. As they started to get dressed Makoto began to blab about what Haru had missed at school and the club. He talked about how the twins missed him and hoped he was making a nice recovery. He also apologized for not visiting him while he was ill but his mother had specifically told him that Haruka needed his rest and was not to be disturbed or else he’d probably be tempted to sneak out and go swimming.

When they finally finished dressing Haru looked over to Makoto and opened his mouth to either tell him to stop talking or perhaps ask him to come over that afternoon. Unfortunately Haruka was cut off before he even had a chance to say anything. “Makoto—“

“Yo, Tachibana ready to go?” said Rin as he appeared near Makoto, slinging his bag over his shoulder. Makoto looked back at him and smiled. “Hm? Yeah, just let me grab my bag.” He turned back to his locker and started pulling out his bag.

Haru glanced between the two. “You’re going somewhere with him?” He raised an eyebrow at Makoto as if the whole thing was some sort of dumb joke.

“Eh? Oh yeah I’m spending the weekend over at Matsuoka-kun’s place. Since you’ve been out all week I didn’t get the chance to tell you.”

“You’re spending the entire weekend at _his_ place?”

Makoto nodded and opened his mouth to reply before Rin butted his way into the conversation. “What’s wrong, Nanase? Afraid I’ll end up taking your place as Tachibana’s other half?” Rin slung his arm around Makoto’s shoulders and gave Haruka a playful grin. “Maybe swimming won’t be the only thing I’ll be your rival in huh?” 

Haru merely scoffed and turned his head to the side. His eyebrow twitched in annoyance. Rin smirked at Haru’s reaction and laughed as he took his arms off of Makoto. “Man lighten up, Nanase, it was a _joke_.” Rin rolled his eyes at Haruka. “There’s no one in this world brave enough to try and tear you two apart.”

Haruka merely glared in Rin’s direction. Sensing that things were getting tensed, Makoto got in between the two other boys and asked Haru if he was interested in joining Rin and him for the weekend.

“No thanks,” Haru replied. “I have better things to do than join your playdate.”

Makoto frowned at that. Deep down he was actually happy Haru had refused the offer seeing as this wasn’t exactly a playdate, but that didn’t mean that the fact that Haru didn’t want to hang out with Makoto after not being able to see each other for a while didn’t hurt.

“Suit yourself then. C’mon Tachibana let’s get a move on.” Rin gathered up his stuff and headed towards the exit, motioning for Makoto to follow behind him. Makoto quickly started stuffing all his stuff back into his bag and started walking towards where Rin was.

“Makoto.”

Makoto stopped in his tracks. “Yes?” He asked looking back at Haru, waiting for him to continue with whatever he was saying. Haru looked up at him and opened his mouth to say something but then closed it quickly. Makoto tilted his head in confusion. It wasn’t like Haru to be like this.

“Never mind.”

“Ah okay. I’ll see you later, Haru-chan. Get home safe okay?”

For a brief moment Makoto thought he saw a small look of hurt on Haru’s face, as if he wanted Makoto to change his mind about spending the weekend with Rin and go with him instead, but he ignored it as he turned around to catch up to Rin. After all there was no reason for Haru to be hurt, right? It wasn’t like Makoto was purposely leaving Haruka behind to hang out with Rin or anything like that.  He wasn’t even going over to Rin’s to play! He had serious business to take care of, not that Haru could ever know about that. With one final glance at Haru’s face, Makoto sprinted forward to Rin’s side.

It hurt to leave his best friend like that, but the less Haruka knew about everything, the better.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> girls are weird and now we're at a first name basis.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> unbeata'd. dedicated to [harusprincess](http://harusprincess.tumblr.com/) for giving me a little push to finally sit down and finish this chapter.

Sneaking out after dinner and board games with Rin’s grandma was a lot easier than either boy thought it would be. Of course it helped that Rin’s grandma slept like a rock. The old lady could sleep through the end of the world if she wanted to. (Rin’s words not Makoto’s). It also helped that Rin had thoroughly planned their escape earlier in the week so that it wouldn’t be too hard trying to get out and to the place they planned to meet Kyubey at. 

They walked through the dimly lit streets until they finally reached the rusted old playground not too far from Rin’s house. It was pretty secluded since no one ever brought their kids there anymore since a new playground much closer to the town was built over about a year ago. It was the perfect meeting spot for secret things like this. 

“What do you think she’s like?” asked Rin. 

Makoto tapped his finger on his chin as he thought about his answer for a second, “Dunno. I just hope she’s nice and won’t be too hard on me unlike some people.” He gave Rin a bit of side eye before turning away again. 

“Keep your shade to yourself, Tachibana, or I’m tripling the number of laps you’re running next week.” 

“Yeah, yeah.” Makoto looked down at his watched. The girl wasn’t supposed to be here for another ten minutes or so. He knew it was silly, but he couldn’t help but feel a little nervous. And Rin’s nonstop babbling wasn’t helping. 

“But seriously though--I bet she’s totally hardcore. She could probably take ten witches out with her bare hands and teeth.” 

“That sounds a little brutal don’t you think?” Makoto winced a bit at the thought of having to learn from such a girl. He didn’t know much about magical girls other than what little he had seen on TV and heard from girls in school, but he was pretty sure they didn’t resort to that type of violence. 

Rin just shrugged, “Maybe, but I’m just keeping the possibilities open here. I mean it’s always best to have an open mind you know.” 

“I think you watch a little too much television, Matsuoka-kun.” 

 ***** *** ***  

When the ten minutes finally passed both of the boys were on edge. Rin was crouched down doodling things in the sand while Makoto was pacing back and forth. Where was she? Did she change her mind? Did something happen to her? Makoto groaned. He was going to give himself a migraine if he kept thinking too much. 

Suddenly there was a loud noise and then a flash of color as something swiftly passed by both Makoto and Rin and landed in the bushes nearby. The boys quickly ran over to see what the commotion was all about when a girl popped out of the bushes and caused them to fall back onto the ground in surprise. The two of them stared up at the girl who just oozed energy and then stared at each other. Was she the one Kyubey talked about? Makoto cleared his throat and smiled at the girl standing before them. 

“A-Are you the one Kyubey sent?” 

The girls eyes flashed with a mischievous glint and she quickly spun around and did a somewhat flashy pose. “That’s right! Maiha Yuuka at your service! You can call me Yuukarin. It’s nice to finally meet you." 

Rin and Makoto gaped at the girl who had practically slid in their direction. She surely knew how to make an entrance that’s for sure. Maybe Rin was right about this one. She surely seemed like a wild one. Maiha Yuuka wasn't anything like Makoto had pictured. Not that that was a bad thing, but he thought magical girls were supposed to be more... girly and innocent looking? It wasn't that Maiha wasn't innocent looking. No, she definitely had a baby type face with round cheeks and big brown eyes, but the rest of her wasn't like that at all. She was very boyish looking aside from her face and long black hair that framed her face in a messy manner. She had bandages wrapped around her hands and a few on her face as well as a couple of bruises here and there. She looked as if she had just gotten out of some sort of fight. Perhaps she was some sort of troublemaker? Makoto winced a bit at the thought of Maiha being a part of some gang or something worse. 

“A-Ah likewise, Maiha-san” 

“Nonononono--” Maiha held out her hands and vigorously shook them in a displeased manner. “I said to call me 'Yuukarin'. ‘Maiha-san’ sounds so serious and that’s no fun.” 

“A-Ah... how about Yuuka-san instead?” 

She sighed before giving the boys a toothy grin as she leaned over and affectionally (more like aggressively) ruffled their hair. “So cute! Ah let’s see you--” She pointed to Makoto. “--must be Makoto! And you must be _RinRin_!” 

“Just Rin **_please_**.” 

Makoto almost wanted to laugh at the sour look Rin was giving Yuuka at the moment. He knew Rin wouldn’t say anything out loud to Yuuka, but it was pretty obvious he hated that nickname and didn’t want her to call him that. 

“Okay then. Rin!” 

Yuuka then quickly turned back to Makoto and grabbed his face and squished his cheeks with her hands. “Kyubey didn’t tell me just how adorable you were. I’m so jealous.” She played with his cheeks as if they were putty in her hands. Makoto could feel his face heating up in embarrassment. He wasn’t used to anyone but family touching his face like this and Rin laughing in the background wasn’t helping the situation. 

“Y-Yuuka-san. I would appreciate if you didn’t squash my face so much.” 

“Ah!! Sorry. I can get a little carried away when it comes to cute things.” She dropped her hands off his face and backed away from him slightly. “But I’m totally serious now.” 

She put her hands on her hips and stuck out her chest as she gave Makoto a serious look. Makoto gulped in slight fear. Was his training already about to begin? 

“Makoto. Could you transform for me?” 

A nod and a series of bright lights later Makoto was once again transformed into his magical girl self. He lightly chewed on his lip as he heard Rin give a light whistle and saw Yuuka looking at him up and down. She motioned for him to twirl around and he did as he was told. Yuuka nodded her head as she circled around observing Makoto's transformed body. Makoto heard her make soft comments to herself and it looked as if she was taking mental notes of every aspect of his body. It made him a little self-conscious. 

“Your outfit is so cute.” She said with a bright smile as she toyed with the end of his skirt a bit. “Your form is good too. Your body may be feminine now, but you still have a lot of the boyish qualities of your normal body. Like your strength and muscles and whatnot. With the proper training becoming a decent magical girl shouldn’t be that much of a problem.” 

Makoto smiled at that. He was glad that Yuuka seemed to think he was actually going to be trainable. That really took a load off his shoulders. He had been worried all week that his mentor would take one look at him and tell Kyubey that he was a hopeless cause. That no one could ever train him enough to actually be a worthwhile magical girl. 

“Okay!” Makoto flinched a bit as Yuuka’s loud yell scared him out of his thoughts. She clenched her fists together and almost jumped in excitement. “Now that that’s over with you two can head home now. You should probably enjoy the last few days of proper sleep while you still can.” 

Makoto eyes widened a bit. He wasn’t expecting that. “B-But what about my training?” He cried. Was he not worth her time and effort? Was she giving up on training him after only one meeting? Was he really that helpless? 

“Don’t worry I’m still going to train you. I just needed to see what I’m working with here. You’re still a beginner and we have to work our way up in order to get you ready for the big leagues.” 

Makoto was about to ask what she meant by that but Rin beat him to it. “What do you mean? You’re not giving up Makoto?” Rin was just as confused as Makoto was. Was she going to help them or not? 

Yuuka sighed and shook her head. _Boys_. How silly they were. She gave the two boys a reassuring smile before going on to try and explain herself. “Basically what I’m trying say is that it wouldn’t be right of me to just send you in to fight witches without knowing what you’re up against.” 

She paused a bit before continuing, “Witches are tricky creatures. Some are simple and easy to get rid of while others are a lot harder and a lot crueler. I need to come up with a proper training regime for us to use that would most benefit you." She crouched down a bit to meet Makoto's face at his eye level. She put her hand on his shoulder and said, “You and I are different in every shape and form. You wouldn’t benefit at all from my personal regime. I need a little time to think up a really good one-- just for you. You understand, right?” 

Makoto nodded. So that’s what she meant. It wasn’t that he wasn’t good enough it was that she wanted time to think of the best way to train him. Just the fact that she was willing to do so much for him made his heart swell a bit from happiness. He knew he had Rin to fight alongside with, but it made Makoto so much happier knowing he had someone like Yuuka on his side as well. 

Yuuka stood back up and stared up at the moon shining in the sky. A cool breeze washed over them as Rin and Makoto also stared up at the night sky. They stayed like that in silence before Yuuka spoke up again. 

“It’s a dangerous job. But I can see great potential in you, Makoto. You’re going to be just fine. Kyubey doesn’t make contracts with just anyone you know. He only picks those with pure hearts and good intentions--plus you’re a boy!! It’s very rare for Kyubey to ask a boy to form a contract which means you must’ve been extra super-duper special!” 

She looked at him and gave him a thumbs up with another toothy grin.” I have plenty of faith in you--the both of you. Trust me and I'll make you the best magical girl this town's ever seen!” 

Makoto’s face flushed a bit and in an instant he gave Yuuka the biggest smile he could muster up. “I’ll--” He paused a bit before continuing. He quickly reached over and wrapped an arm around Rin’s neck and brought him in closer. “I mean we’ll do our best!” 

*** * ***

They were both incredibly happy to finally get back to Rin’s place. As fun and interesting the night had been they were both utterly exhausted. It was a good thing tomorrow was Sunday. They changed back into their pajamas and climbed back into Rin’s bed, eager to get as much sleep as they could before Rin’s grandmother would come and wake them in the morning. 

Yuuka had said they would meet again at the same time and same place in three days. She said would’ve made them wait a bit longer, but it was probably best to start quickly and have Makoto be prepared for anything. She didn't want him to accidentally run into a witch without any practice whatsoever. She didn't want him getting hurt. He was grateful that she seemed to care so much about him. 

Rin’s room was quiet as Makoto continued to stare at the ceiling deep in thought. Despite it being uncomfortably quiet it didn’t bother Makoto as much as he thought it would. In fact just being around Rin wasn’t as uncomfortable as he thought. In fact it was actually really nice. It was different than the way he felt when he was around Haru, but at the same time it felt the same. He couldn't explain it, but he really enjoyed Rin's company a lot lately. Another few minutes of silence passed before Makoto finally got the courage to turn over to face Rin, who was still awake. 

“Ne, Matsuoka-kun.” 

“Hm?” 

“Do you really think I can do this?” 

“Tch. Geez, Tachibana do you have any sort of confidence in you? I’ve told you before you’ll do just fine. Even Yuuka-san thinks you’ll be okay and she’s obviously been doing this for a while. So if she thinks you’ll be fine then you will be, got it?” 

“I guess you do have a point there, Matsuoka-kun.” 

There was a slight pause before Rin turned to face the other direction. Makoto assumed that that was the end of that conversation and it was time to finally sleep. He turned back around to lay on his side away from Rin and stared at the wall as he counted sheep in his head. However, as he began to close his eyes he overheard a soft mumble come from Rin. Makoto turned back around to face the other boy’s back, curious as to what was just said. 

“Matsuoka-kun?” 

“Rin.” 

“Eh?” 

“Call me Rin.” 

“...Really? Are you sure?” 

“We’re partners now, aren’t we? I mean I said I’d always be by your side during all of this and that I’d keep you safe. So we should at least be able to call each other by our names.” 

Makoto’s breath hitched a bit in his throat. It wasn’t really such a big deal. They were friends after all. Calling each other by their names shouldn’t be such a huge thing, but something churned in Makoto’s stomach and it made him feel so happy. He wasn’t sure what it was, but being able to call Rin by his name and vice versa made his heart swell just a bit. When he saw the tips of Rin’s ears begin to turn red, the smile on Makoto’s face grew even wider than before. 

“Okay then... _Rin_.” 

“Don’t say it like that.” 

“Like what?” 

“Like--ah whatever. Just forget it.” 

“Do mine.” 

“Huh?” 

“Say my name.” 

“. . .” 

"Please?” 

“... _Makoto_.” 

“ ** _\--!!_** " 

“D-Don’t sound so happy idiot! I can feel you smiling even with my back turned!!” 

“I can’t help it. I’m just so happy. **Rin**!” 

“ _Gah_ \--I’m going to bed.” 

“Good night... _Rin_.” 

“G’night. ... _Makoto_.”


End file.
